burning red
by alittletasteofheaven
Summary: Mikasa refuses to take her scarf off on the hottest day of the year, and Eren doesn't quite understand. – "Why are you so hell bent on wearing that scarf all the time?" — mikaere.


**SNK (c) Isayama Hajime**

* * *

It was hot.

Brutally hot. The sun beat down on the city of Trost mercilessly, making its inhabitants feel like they'd been submerged into the deepest depths of hell. And, as luck would have it, it was the day that Keith decided they would be running laps around the HQ and have close combat practice after, all in their stifling uniforms, jackets and everything.

"Those Titans won't give two shits if it's hotter than Satan's balls outside! You bastards better learn to fight in unfavorable weather conditions or else you're Titan bait!" Keith would say.

Eren took this with little complaint, of course. Complaining would get him nowhere, so he decided he'd suck it up and trudge on as the day went by.

The first few laps weren't so bad. He tried to concentrate on his breathing, trying to keep up a fast pace so the wind rushing against his face would help cool him down a little. Though, about halfway through, he and many others started to get sluggish and slowed down a bit, but at the very front of the pack Eren could see a flash of red. It was Mikasa, he knew – damn her! – but he couldn't help but wonder why she was wearing her red scarf on a blisteringly hot day like this.

After a good ten or so more laps, Keith finally relented and allowed them a break. Eren staggered over to where most of the trainees were resting in the shade, dropping himself unceremoniously on the ground and greedily chugged down all the water in his jug. He sighed in relief as he swallowed the last drop.

He heard someone sit down beside him and turned his head to find Mikasa slumped beside him, soaked with sweat and panting lightly. He noted with a frown that her scarf was tied around her head like a headband of sorts to keep her hair out of her face. "You okay?"

She gulped down some water out of her own jug before answering. "Yeah."

"Liar," Eren snorted, "Look at you – you look like you're about to pass out."

"I said I'm fine. What about you?" Mikasa drawled.

"Don't turn this around to me! You don't look good at all. It's probably because you wore that scarf all day." Eren paused, tugging on the fabric until it came loose, ignoring Mikasa's protests, "Why would you even wear that today? It's so goddamn hot out!"

A small frown formed on her lips. "I wore it because I wanted to."

"Don't be stupid, Mikasa! Any fool would know wearing a scarf in this heat is just begging for heat exhaustion."

"I don't care," she panted, making Eren furrow his brow in concern, "I want to wear it."

"Would you stop being so stubborn and just– "

"Eren, Mikasa– whoa, are you alright Mikasa? You don't look so good," Armin interrupted, looking no worse for wear himself.

"I'm fine," she muttered.

Armin cast her a doubtful look but nodded anyway. "Alright. Anyway, I just came to tell you that break time's over. We've got to go over to the practice grounds for combat training."

Eren groaned in annoyance but hoisted himself up anyway. "I hate combat training, it's so pointless. When are we ever going to need that fighting against Titans?"

"Well, I guess it's good just to learn anyway. You never know what could happen," Armin mused, starting to walk with Eren.

"I doubt it," Eren sighed as they turned a corner. If he was going to practice close combat, he might as well get a workout out of it. Maybe he'd take Annie up on her offer to teach him some of her technique…

"What do you think, Mikasa?" Armin asked, only to be met with silence.

"Mikasa?" he repeated, looking behind him to find that she wasn't there. He stopped abruptly , frowning as he looked around. Hadn't she been walking with them?

"Armin?" Eren questioned as he too stopped, looking behind him and frowning when he didn't see Mikasa. "Hey, where's Mikasa?"

"I don't know, I thought she was behind us this whole time…" Armin mumbled.

Cold realization hit Eren like a ton of bricks. "That _idiot_!" he snarled, taking off in the direction that'd come from, ignoring Armin's shouts. He _knew_ she was being too stubborn for her own good!

It wasn't long until he saw her body slumped against the wall they'd been resting against, her head hung and hands unmoving as they laid at her sides.

"_Mikasa!_"

* * *

It wasn't until nightfall that Mikasa finally stirred from unconsciousness.

Immediately the dull throbbing of a headache greeted her as she opened her eyes. She moaned lightly, bringing her hand up to cover her forehead, wincing when she realized that her whole body felt like lead.

She shifted her gaze over to the side of the bed, finding Eren sitting in a chair, arms crossed and lightly dozing. He looked so peaceful. She smiled as she thought back to a time where he always had that peaceful look on his face, often times a smile too, many of which were directed at her as he held her small hand, guiding her through the streets of Shiganshina.

She slowly sat up and found herself clad in a white t-shirt and shorts, her uniform folded neatly on the table beside her. She frowned when she didn't see her scarf.

"Mikasa?" came Eren's drowsy voice, her movement apparently awakening him.

"Eren, where's my scarf?"

He chuckled slightly, an incredulous look on his face. "You pass out from heat exhaustion and that's the only thing you're worried about?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out her precious scarf, offering it to her. "I have it."

"Oh, thank you E—hey!" she yelped when he pulled it away from her. "Aren't you going to give it back?"

He feigned thoughtfulness, tapping his chin as he dangled the scarf tantalizingly just out of her reach. "Hm, I don't know, should I? I mean, this _was _mine to begin with…"

"But you gave it to me!" she protested, trying to make a grab for it, "_Eren!_"

He grabbed her wrist, his expression serious as his eyes bored into hers. "Mikasa. You fainted today because of this. Don't think you'll get it back so easily."

She looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. "Please give it back," she murmured.

"Damn it, Mikasa, this is serious! You _knew_ it was hot as hell out today but you wore it anyway! What's wrong with you?! You knew something like this would happen!" he snapped at her.

"Please give it back," she repeated.

She could feel his glare on her. "Are you even listening to me?! Why are you so attached to this anyway? It's old and it's coming apart—it even risked your health today! Why are you hell bent on wearing this all the time?"

"I don't care if it's old or if it's coming apart, and I don't care if it's blazing hot outside. I will wear it," she paused to look at him evenly, "because it's special to me."

His glare softened into a more somber look. "I still don't understand why though…"

"You gave it to me, Eren. When I had nowhere else to go, when I was cold and scared, you gave it to me to warm me up and then you gave me a home. That was all I wanted—a safe place I could call home and I found that in you. That scarf you gave to me reminds me of that and makes me feel safe. That's why it's so special to me. That's why I wear it everyday." She held out her hand expectantly. "So can I have it back, please?"

He remained silent for a while, staring into her eyes with a glint of understanding and something else she couldn't quite place. He eventually sighed in resignation, pulling out the scarf from his pocket again.

Mikasa inwardly grinned in triumph as she reached out for the scarf, but she quickly frowned when he pulled it out of her reach again. "Eren—"

She was interrupted by the feeling of the soft, red fabric being draped around her neck and face, a small gasp escaping her lips as déjà vu hit her. Her mind took her back to the day all those years ago, when she was standing around Eren's makeshift fire, his father's coat around her shoulders but she still shivered. She remembered the feeling of comfort and security washing over her at the insistent tug of Eren's hand so well that her eyes nearly stung with tears.

"Happy?" he asked, a small smile on his face. She could only squeak out a small sound of agreement, just as she had six years ago.

"Just don't be stupid anymore, got it?"

She nodded, watching as he stood up and sat down on the edge of the infirmary bed, his back to her and arms stretched out behind him. She stared at him in confusion when he looked back at her.

"What? I'll take you back to the girls' barracks. You're still tired, right?"

"Yeah…" she mumbled as she crawled over to him, slipping her arms around his neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. She shivered slightly when he grabbed onto her thighs and lifted her up, his fingers cool against her warm skin.

She buried her face into the junction between his neck and shoulder, smiling as she breathed in his scent.

"Eren?"

He turned his head slightly. "Yeah?"

"Thank you…for everything…" she trailed off, drifting off to sleep.

His lips curled upwards into a smile. "Don't mention it."

* * *

**A/N: **what was the other emotion in Eren's stare? hmm...I think I'll leave it up to you guys to interpret huehuehue ;)

I really love writing protective!Eren. He really does care about her, he just has a...funny way of showing it. lol

and sorry x102913823 for the crappiest title in existence, i really had a tough time thinking of one and I was trying to think of one about her scarf and the first thing that came to mind was Red by Taylor Swift so I just picked a line out of there /sobs


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